Letter printed in the Advertiser 1st November 2018 by Steve Halden

The Budget by Philip Hammond Chancellor of the Exchequerhas failed to tackle the major problems facing the British economy and that is the trade deficit.

Britain has the worst trade deficit in the developed world even after including invisible exports of services such as banking and insurance.

Manufacturing industry is the main generator of wealth in Britain and the Budget totally ignores that sector of the economy. There is nothing in the budget to encourage exports in order to tackle the trade deficit.

Britain runs a trade deficit with the EU of a billion pounds a week. This is the most urgent problem facing Britain today.

In the long term a deficit of this size is unsustainable because it adds to the National Debt which is already approaching two trillion pounds.

Steve Halden

Letter printed in the Advertiser 18th October 2108 by Steve Halden

Conservative MP Anna Soubry is now saying that leaving the EU is impossible.

She is saying that MPs should apologise for offering a referendum on an issue that was impossible to deliver.

She us wrong. Leaving the EU would be very simple if only our MPs would vote for what the people were asked in the EU referendum.

The referendum result was a vote to leave the EU. We never asked the government to try to negotiate a half in half out compromise.

Steve Halden

Labour's six tests for the Brexit deal. Advertiser 29 SeptTheresa May is negotiating a Brexit deal and Labour have said they will vote against it unless the deal passes the six tests that Labour have set out to judge the deal.

The first test is that the Brexit deal must include exactly the same benefits as we have now.

So using that logic if the deal is better than before Labour would vote against it on the grounds that it is not exactly the same as before.

The only way to get a deal that is exactly the same is to remain in the EU.In other words Labour will vote against any Brexit deal that Theresa May negotiates if it does not include remaining in the EU.

Steve Halden

Catching a Serial Killer. Advertiser 28th SeptemberThe finest possible achievement of any policeman is to catch a serial killer.

Sometimes such an investigation can involve literally hundreds of policemen.But Superintendent Steve Fulcher did it more or less on his own in less than a week.

In a story that could outdo the wildest TV fiction thriller the true life ITV documentary told how the serial killer was caught.

Not only was the serial killer Christopher Halliwell caught for the murder of Sian O'Callaghan, but he was also eventually convicted for the murder of Becky Godden.

This has got to be one of the most thrilling and spectacular police murder investigations ever told.

It was just very sad that Detective Superintendent Steve Fulcher lost his job due to technical problems with the Police and Crimes Evidence Act.

Steve Halden

Steve Halden letter printed in Advertiser 22 September 2018

A British ex-soldier has been given a seven year prison sentence by Turkey for fighting ISIS.

ISIS were one of the most cruel regimes in the world. They were eventually defeated by a coalition of western forces.

It seems that Turkey did not approve. They have given Joe Robinson a seven year prison sentence for helping the Kurds to defeat ISIS.

Steve Halden

The European Court of Human Rights (ECHR) has once again overruled the British parliament.

The ECHR has made the judgement that the British bulk surveillance powers set up in 2016 are illegal.

Keeping the public safe should always be the number one priority of any British government. Britain is in a constant struggle against terrorist attacks and those bulk interception powers are essential to that fight.

But the ECHR believes that human rights are more important than keeping the country safe.

We voted to leave the EU on 23rd June 2016. That was over two years ago but nothing has changed.

The ECHR is still preventing the British government from doing its job properly.

Steve Halden

Letter by Steve Halden on Plastic Waste published Advertiser 10th September 2018

Everyone agrees that we need to recycle more plastic waste to save the planet and protect the oceans from plastic pollution.

Britain has found that the cheapest way to recycle is to export our plastic waste to third world countries.

It has now been discovered that most of what we exported ended up in land fill abroad.

Britain has tried to avoid building proper recycling plants in Britain as it requires the government getting involved with industrial production which goes against basic Conservative philosophy.

It is British industry that creates wealth in this country. The Conservatives need a total change of philosophy.

Britain needs to be much more supportive of its home grown manufacturing industry.

Steve Halden

Letter from Steve Halden in the Advertiser 3rd Septermber

It seems that Swindon Council are very proud that they sold 73 council houses last year.

The rise in sales was achieved by offering even larger discounts to residents.As Swindon is only allowed to keep a third of the income from these council house sales it is difficult to see how these houses can ever be replaced.

There is no doubt that buying your own council house is a bargain for residents but it creates a problem for future generations.

The young generation are being pushed into the very expensive private rented sector.

House prices are far to high the young cant afford to rent or buy.

Steve Halden

Letter from Steve Halden in the Advertiser 23rd August

In reply to John Stooke (Aug 17) Britain runs a trade deficit with the EU of a billion pounds a week after accounting for services.

Britain runs the worst trade deficit in the developed world because the EU has been bad for trade.

Before we joined the EU we had full employment and cheap houses. Now unemployment is up to 4% and the average house price is nine times the average wage.

EU membership has created a disastrous National Debt in Britain of nearly two trillion pounds.

Britain is in permanent austerity. Because of our EU membership Britain can nolonger afford to properly fund council house building, libraries, public toilets, police, road maintenance, schools and the NHS.

Steve Halden

Letter from Steve Halden in the Advertiser Ist Aug.

GDPR is part of the latest flood of EU regulations to hit the business community. Business and political parties have been knocked sideways by this glut of new EU red tape.

The General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) (EU) 2016/679 is a regulation in EU law on data protection and privacy for all individuals within the European Union (EU).

Britain voted to leave the EU on 23rd June 2016.

For some reason that I dont fully understand Britain is still adopting all the red tape regulations that come gushing out of the EU parliament in Brussels.

Steve Halden

Letter published in the Advertiser 24th July 2018

In reply to Kevin Small 20th July, it is our MPs refusal to implement the EU referendum result that is the problem.

Both Major parties promised to take Britain out of the EU in their 2017 General Election Manifestos.

But once the election was over both major parties decided that they wanted to stay in a Customs Union.

The ruling elite have decided that the working class made a mistake in wanting to take back control of our borders.

They have decided that the free movement of people is the option that the working class should have chosen.

Steve Halden

The EU is trying to destroy YouTube

(Letter published in the Advertiser 13th July 2018)

The European Union is trying to bring in tougher new copywrite laws that could put YouTube out of business.

Copywrite infringements mean that the singers are not getting sufficient money under the existing system say the EU.

The young generation have grown up with YouTube and they would find it a shock if it was suddenly blocked by the EU.

Britain voted to leave the EU on 23rd June 2016 but at the moment we are still following all the laws put out by the EU, so if it was blocked Britain would have to follow that ruling. Steve Halden

UKIP is the party for the young generation

Martin Wicks (June 15) was right to highlight that the housing affordability crisis is still getting worse in Swindon.

In the private sector the monthly rent for a three bedroom family home is now £850. This has gone up 17% in the last four years.

Recent changes to Housing Benefit regulations have reduced the help that is available to the young generation.

The outlook for the future is quite bleak. High house prices have put buying properties out of reach.

This means that more and more people will find themselves in the private rented sector because so many council houses have to sold off under the Right to Buy legislation.

The best possible start we can give them is that they should have a decent place to live.

Single Market restrictions on Business

In reply to John Dennis (14 May) I am afraid his idea of encouraging businesses to move up north into areas where houses are cheap would be illegal under EU Law.

Within the EU Single Market these things must be left to market forces and any interference is classed as state aid and strictly against the rules.

If we want to provide affordable homes for the young generation then we have no option but for local councils to start building council houses.

300,000 council houses will need to be built every year because at the present time there are two million people waiting for a council house and the lists are growing all the time.

If we started building at this speed it would still take about seven years to clear the backlog of people currently on council house the waiting list. Steve Halden Beaufort Green SwindonPublished in the Swindon Advertiser 19th May 2017

Published and promoted by Stephen Halden and UKIP Swindon, both at 10 Beaufort Green, Swindon, SN3 2AE